The Inside Guys and their plus1 came after Shaquille O’Neal’s diet. So he retaliated by turning over his best friend to the FBI. Not the real ones, of course. The (possible) secret hit squad under a big brand that’s a direct competition to a Charles Barkley-backed company. If you’ve tracked Chuckster’s weight loss journey recently, he’s repeatedly thanking Mounjaro. It’s a medication that’s helped him lose over 60 lbs in the past two years at least. But Mounjaro’s competitor probably doesn’t like they get the Round Mound of Rebound’s endorsement.

ICYMI, Alonzo Mourning strong-armed Shaq on The Big Podcast to cut back on his unhealthy diet recently. After some serious negotiation, Zo compromised by putting Shaq on low-fat dairy. The TNT crew had to ensure that O’Neal was living up to the promise.

On his first day back on Inside the NBA under the Alonzo Mourning-curated diet, Shaq was close to breaking it. He threatened Phoenix Suns coach, Mike Budenholzer that he’d eat a bowl of cereal every night unless he puts Bol Bol in rotation. It’s a remix of him doing exactly that last season. This time, Jalen Rose (subbing in for an MIA Kenny Smith) reminded Zo to put him on a diet.

Chuckster went a step further, hinting at Shaq that since he’s started low-fat milk already, he could try a plant-based milk with his cereal too. He apparently pushed too far that Shaq warned, “I don’t know what you’re [Barkley] talking about. Ozempic’s looking for your a– too.” All this because Chuck was close to taking away the closest thing to dairy Shaq has now?

Shaq is inaccurate though, and Barkley had to correct him that he’s on Mounjaro, not Ozempic. Does that matter to the Prankster Diesel? No. He still maintains, “Ozempic FBI, he’s right here!” As usual, he left the studio and everyone watching in splits. And Shaq may have invented Inside the NBA’s new running joke while he was at it.

Suspect Charles Barkley on the run

Charles Barkley has been open about his use of Mounjaro on multiple platforms, including on TNT. While Mounjaro and Ozempic sell two different dr-gs, they are marketed to the same category of consumers. Ozempic has become a byword for the weight loss medication that several famous personalities are relying on. So Shaq is using those names interchangeably.

It’s not even the first time. Last week, the Inside Guys jumped on the ‘Suspect Challenge’ trend. At Chuck’s turn, the sneaky Shaquille O’Neal said, “Suspect is wanted by Ozempic cause the dr-gs don’t work on his fat a–.” Suspect Barkley yelled at Shaq across the studio, “Mounjaro, fool.” Get it right already, Shaq.

Or is Shaq intentionally putting Chuck on a rival company’s radar? O’Neal himself has lost about 50 lbs by consulting nutritionists, doctors, and a special trainer. He’s not gunning for an endorsement deal or opting for medication similar to Chuck. But he knows which of Chuckster’s buttons to push.